


The Art of Precious Scars

by Dassandre



Category: James Bond (Craig movies)
Genre: Idiots in Love, Introspection, M/M, OT3, Things We Don't Say
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-30
Updated: 2019-07-30
Packaged: 2020-07-26 02:14:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20036200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dassandre/pseuds/Dassandre
Summary: Eve’s question had come out of nowhere.  A seeming non sequitur given they had been discussing the suspension system on the new Audi R8 -- Eve appreciated high-performance vehicles as much as he did -- but it must have made reasonable sense in her head at the time. Unfortunately, before he could ask where the question had come from or even consider his response, Mallory’s door opened and he was summoned inside for his debrief.





	The Art of Precious Scars

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AsheTarasovich (natalieashe)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/natalieashe/gifts), [Boffin1710](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Boffin1710/gifts).

> A gift for the greater one given to me: the reminder that I do know how to do this.

* * *

“Why Alec  _ and _ Q, James? Why both of them?”

Eve’s question had come out of nowhere. A seeming non sequitur given they had been discussing the suspension system on the new Audi R8 -- Eve appreciated high-performance vehicles as much as he did -- but it must have made reasonable sense in her head at the time. Unfortunately, before he could ask where the question had come from or even consider his response, Mallory’s door opened and he was summoned inside for his debrief.

But now, sat in his reading chair, book forgotten, watching the two men in question squabble over  _ something _ across the room on this rare night they were all at home together, James considered Eve’s question again.

Why both of them.

Alec? 

Of all the Operations Officers, 006 was the true assassin. Cold and calculating, Alec would complete the mission by whatever means necessary.  _ Whatever _ means necessary. He said little but what words he used were oft harbingers of doom to those who heard them. 

At least in the field. 

At home, Alec Trevelyan was loud and boisterous. He had a wicked sense of humour aided by a razor-sharp intellect he tried to play off as anything but. He was equal parts playful puppy, annoying toddler, and loyal lover. 

James didn’t want to put too romantic a slant on it, but …

Alec was sunlight. 

Not always, mind you. His demons were as present as James’ own, devious and clever at escaping containment, and when they visited, the shadow cast by their wings cloaked that sunlight in darkness. 

And though James had loved Alec -- not that they ever used that word -- for nearly two decades, he hadn’t fallen  _ in _ love with Alec until he watched Alec fall completely arse over tit for Q. Whilst not quite ‘at first sight’, it was really just a matter of keeping track of the time since by the end of his first meeting with Six’s new Quartermaster, Alec Trevelyan was utterly, irrevocably gone on Q.

It was something James could understand. It had already happened to him.

If Alec was sunlight, Q was bedrock. 

Solid. Unwavering. Steadfast. 

“Put your back into it” had got James attention, but it was the skill along with the sass that had held it. Thoughtful and meticulous. Introspective with a wisdom far beyond the years of this lifetime, Q challenged James in ways he neither thought he needed nor wanted until he’d had the first taste of it. No water given to a man dying of thirst in the desert ever tasted sweeter.

Q had demons, too. Ancient wraiths that haunted him from his life before as well as newer shades born of his decisions since becoming Quartermaster. But there was still a streak of goodness, of  _ morality _ , within Q despite all he had seen and done through the years, and James would do whatever was necessary to ensure Q retained it for it grounded and reassured James in ways nothing else could.

Alec and Q’s squabble had turned into a wrestling match on the ground before the fire. Not uncommon. Though Alec had more mass, Q was surprisingly strong and flexible for his frame. Alec’s victory was by no means assured, but James already knew the prize the winner would insist upon when it was over, and that though he sat now as referee, James would enjoy the spoils of conquest, too. 

So why both?

The Japanese have a practice for repairing broken things:  _ kintsugi _ . Using a precious metal such as liquid gold, the art form joins together fragments of broken pottery, enhancing the breaks, refining them. Because of the randomness of the cracks, and the irregular patterns formed by the metals used in the repair, every mended piece is one of a kind.

Unique.

Valuable … again.

_ Kintsugi _ .

The art of precious scars.

Each of them was broken.

Together, they mended.

“The answer to your question ...” James said the next morning.

Eve looked up at him from her desk. Her smile more enigmatic than the Buddha's. 

“ … is that I can like who I am again because of them.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> “If you have consumed what I have laboured and invested in to create, and if you have found any enjoyment in it, please tell me so that I can recharge enough to do this again.” ~ kdreeva via Tumblr


End file.
